CUCN History The Indian Removal Act of 1830 Essay

Read/review the following resources for this activity:

Textbook: Chapter 9, 10 (section 10.4), 11 (section 11.5), 13

INSTRUCTIONS

Pick one (1) of the following topics. Then, address the corresponding questions/prompts for your selected topic. Use at least one (1) documented example of the corresponding primary source in your writing.

Option 1: The American System, Transportation, and Communication
Read the following primary source:

• Transcript of President Andrew Jackson’s Message to Congress ‘On Indian Removal’ (1830)

Then, address the following:

• Evaluate the rationale that President Jackson used in the removal of the Native Americans from east of the Mississippi River. Did the removal have the intended impact?
• Identify the responsibilities given to the President under the Indian Removal Act of 1830.
• Compare Jackson’s actions toward Native Americans in the context of his First Inaugural Address with the path of events during the Trail of Tears.
• Determine if the removal of the Native Americans from east of the Mississippi River violate the principles found in the Declaration of Independence?

Option 3: The Abolitionist Movement
Read the following primary source:

• Declaration of Sentiments of American Anti-Slavery Society (1833) (Click on arrows to view all images of the document. Click on plus and minus signs to enlarge or reduce size of images.) 

Then, address the following:

• Assess if abolitionists were responsible reformers or irresponsible agitators?
• Explain how abolitionists upheld the Declaration of Independence as the foundation of antislavery and abolitionist thought.
• Assess the effect of the Gag Rule on the Abolitionist Movement.
• Analyze how the women’s rights movement would gain momentum from the antislavery movement.